Zurich Lake Walk – East

We like this walk for the lake views and people watching on Sunday afternoons or any nice evening when all of Zurich comes out to stroll and enjoy city life. The kids love the big playground near China Garden and the fun stepping stones hidden behind the trees. At about halfway, there is a big playground and park with large grassy areas for lounging and sports. Outside summer, you can walk through the Tiefenbrunnen Strandbad, aka swimming area.

Location:

Zurich City

Address:

Start: Zurich BellevueEnd: Zurich Tiefenbrunnen

By car:

parking available at Opernhaus

By transit:

10 mins from Zurich HB

Trail:

3 km one way

Condition:

paved

Skill:

easy

Open:

year round

Route Details

This 3km walk goes from Zurich Burkliplatz (or Bellevue) to Tiefenbrunnen, following the east side of the lake. You can return by tram or bus to your starting point.

The whole area is a pedestrian only zone, so kids can run around freely. There are several cafes, drinking fountains, street vendors, and WCs along this walk. Click through on the map to see all the stuff I’ve marked for kids on the map, like the playground, stepping stones, ice cream stand, etc.

Impressions

The walk starts at Bürkliplatz and crosses the bridge with a nice view of the city to the north.

And a nice view of the lake to the south.

Even nicer at sunset.

The swan gather near the bridge. My kids love to feed them bread, but the swans can get really aggressive so watch out.

On weekends and evenings, this area can be very crowded with rowdy groups and street performers. So keep little ones close until the crowds thin out a little further down the lake.

In summer, you can rent Pedalo boats and motor boats.

These trees near the Utoquai swimming area are nice all year round, but we love the colors in fall. There is a drinking fountain and public WC here.

Continue walking down the lake under the tree canopy.

On weekends and nice evenings, lots of street vendors line the path, including ice cream stands like this one. In colder weather, you’ll see roasted chestnut stands.

Here is the big grassy field near China garden. Bring a ball to kick around.

We love this enclosed playground at China Garden that has a fence around it to keep little one contained and strangers at bay. In summer, it has a splash pad that randomly sprays water in the air to delight and soak the kids.

At the southwest corner of the grassy field, there is a little pond hidden behind the trees with these fun stepping stones. The kids love running back and forth on these. We’ve only had one kid fall in, but don’t worry, it’s very shallow.

At the south end of the park, there are lots of benches along the lake for enjoying the lake view.

Sometimes you’ll find art or concerts or even outdoor movies at Zurihorn.